BCCI sells ground and title rights for Rs 1.73 billion

The Indian board has sold the ground and title naming rights for 55 Tests and ODIs to be played in India over the next 31 months from September 1 to the World Sports Group (WSG) for Rs 1.73 billion (US $42,262,694).

WSG, part of the Global Cricket Corporation, outbid two other Indian firms - Percept and Nimbus - to secure the rights till March 2010, BCCI vice-president and marketing committee chief Lalit Modi said. Nimbus, however, own the telecast rights for the international and domestic matches organised by the BCCI during this period.

"The WSG consortium has won the rights from among four bidders including 21st Century Media which was disqualified as they had not submitted all the necessary documents," Modi said. "There will be 55 matches covered by the bid. The winning bid is three times over the last contracted bid which was Rs 10 million per match."

Venu Nair, the chief executive of WSG, told the Economic Times that the value of the deal would work out to $50 million over the three-year period between 2007 and 2010. "That is the kind of exposure we are expecting from this deal," he said. "We have three-four advertisers on board, and the contracts are in the process of being signed.

"There is a significant difference between the ground rights of the BCCI and the ICC. The former guarantees India's presence in every single match and this in turn helps consistently deliver returns on investment."

The deadline for submitting the bid ended at noon today after which they were opened in front of the bidders and the members of the BCCI's marketing committee. Modi also said that the bids for the other rights, including Twenty20 internationals to be played in India and domestic cricket, were still "being negotiated".